The use of the general behavior inventory to screen for affective disorders

Accurate diagnosis of affective disorders and of specific subtypes influences treatment decisions about whether to use psychotherapy alone or in conjunction with medication as well as which is the most appropriate choice of medication. The General Behavior Inventory was used to identify unipolar and bipolar subtypes of major affective disorder in consecutive patients in a private practice and to separate them from anxiety and adjustment disorders. This test was significantly more accurate in separating adjustment disorders from unipolar depression than the Beck Depression Inventory which tended to identify depressive symptomatology regardless of diagnosis and to miss bipolar cases. It was found to be superior to other commonly used screening tests for affective disorders in ease of administration, in choice of language, and in specificity.